Rennie names fresh All Blacks XV for Cape Town Test as injured duo force two changes

Dave Rennie has named a largely refreshed All Blacks side for the second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday, making three changes to the starting XV that edged the Lions Test at Ellis Park on Tuesday.

Two of those changes are injury-driven: prop George Bower is promoted to replace Ethan de Groot, while lock Simon Parker comes in for Josh Lord. The third is a deliberate tactical call at left wing, where Leroy Carter takes the starting berth from Josh Moorby — the player Rennie identified as having missed the tackle that gifted South Africa their only try in the Ellis Park win.

“It was a really tight choice even last week,” Rennie said. “Both of those boys played against the Bulls and played really well. We felt Josh started the Irish game and went very well in his previous two Tests. So there’s not much in that. I think if you look at Leroy, he’s probably a better defender. And we think that’ll be important.”

Rennie acknowledged that Tuesday’s dramatic comeback — New Zealand trailed for nearly an hour before scoring four consecutive tries in the final 30 minutes — had given him greater clarity about his squad’s depth, but explained why the standout performers from Ellis Park were not rewarded with immediate starts.

“The game on Tuesday probably made it a little bit clearer,” he said. “We had some guys who had massive performances on Tuesday, but the fact that they’d played 80 minutes at altitude meant that it’s probably not ideal for them to come into the group. Especially if they haven’t played big minutes.”

Among those who caught the eye at Ellis Park were Ethan Blackadder, who made 15 carries, Rieko Ioane and Emoni Narawa with three linebreaks each, and Timoci Tavatavanawai with eight tackle busts. Rennie indicated those displays would weigh on selection for the third and final Test.

“We’ve gone for a group of guys who are fresh, and I think five of the guys on the bench played a bit of game time on Tuesday,” the coach added. “We had really good discussions, but the fact that we had a fresh group who also trained together on Tuesday made sense to pick this team.”

With the series level at one apiece heading into Saturday’s decider in Cape Town, Rennie’s selection signals a calculated balance between rewarding form and managing the physical demands of a condensed tour schedule.